LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game With Merrimack In Real Time
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Welcome to our live blog, where you can follow Indiana's game with Merrimack on Sunday in real time. We'll keep you updated with the latest news and views as the Hoosiers look to win their eighth straight home game.
Indiana is 7-2 overall, with losses at Syracuse and Wisconsin. The Hoosiers blew a 22-point lead on Wednesday against the Badgers, so they're looking to bounce back on Sunday.
The latest news is at the top, so just keep refreshing. Let's go!
FINAL — Indiana wraps up a relatively solid performance and beats Merrimack 81-49 to raise its record to 8-2 on the season. Game story and more to come.
1:50 p.m. — Indiana pulling away now, leading 75-47 as we've reached the final media timeout with 3:58 to go. Sophomore forward Jordan Geronimo is stuffing the stat sheet today. He's got a career-high 13 points and nine rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Indiana has 16 offensive rebounds.
1:35 p.m. — We've reached the under-8 media timeout and Indiana has a 63-45 lead. Sophomore point guard Khristian Lander has finally made an appearance.
1:20 p.m. — Indiana goes on a 13-0 run to finally add some distance to its lead. Race Thompson having a big game. He and Trayce Jackson-Davis are doing a great job getting good looks inside. We're at the under-12 timeout now, and Indiana leads 57-39.
1:10 p.m. — Almost on demand, Miller Kopp nails back-to-back three-pointers. We're at the first media timeout, and the Hoosiers have a 46-36 lead.
HALFTIME STATS: Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 12 points. Merrimack hit six three-pointers, while the Hoosiers were just 2-for-7 from deep. Parker Stewart didn't score at all and Miller Kopp had only two points. They need to get going.
12:55 p.m. — It's halftime, and Indiana leads 36-30. Merrimack has hung around in the first half, which really isn't a huge surprise. They've done that in their other high-profile games this season with Rutgers, Virginia Tech and No. 5, Gonzaga. They led Rutgers by seven at the half, but then scored only 12 points in the second half and lost 48-35. They trailed Gonzaga by only 11 before losing by 25.
12:50 p.m. — Trayce Jackson-Davis knocks down a couple of free throws and Indiana maintains its eight-point lead. He's 6-for-6 from the line today, a wonderful sign for a guy who's struggle from the line at times.
12:45 p.m. — Xavier Johnson hits a three for Indiana and then hits Trayce Jackson-Davis with a perfect pass on the break and he dunks it home. Indiana goes ip 32-24.
12:40 p.m. — Merrimack gets a couple of three-pointers from Ziggy Reid and Malik Edmead and suddenly it's a two-point game against. Hoosiers up on 25-23.
12:30 — Indiana on a 12-1 run to go ahead 23-12 with 9:20 to go in the first half.
12:25 p.m. — Merrimack plays zone all the time, and Indiana is doing a good job of staying patient with him. It does that they just saw a lot of zone against Syracuse two weeks ago. Rob Phinisee playing well, with two nice assists. He used a nice pass fake to move the zone, and Jordan Geronimo hit a 15-footer, then Phinisee penetrated and found Anthony Leal open at the top of the key for three.
12:20 p.m. — We've hit the second media timeout and Indiana leads 17-11. Merrimack made three of its first four shots, but now has missed five straight from the field. The Warriors always play and a slow pace and they are ranked No. 323 in the country in offensive efficiency, so this isn't a real surprise.
12:15 p.m. — More than seven minutes in, and Merrimack still hasn't attempted a two-point. Everything is from deep, and they're 3-for-7.
12:08 p.m. — We're at the first media timeout and Indiana is trailing Merrimack 9-8. All of the Warriors' points have come on three-pointers, so the Hoosiers are going to have to do a better job of closing out on shooters.
11:45 a.m. — The same starters for the 10th straight game. It's Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Xavier Johnson, Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart.
11:40 a.m. — Indiana is 7-0 against the Northeast Conference in its history, with the last meeting against a member of their league coming in the 2019 NIT Tournament, when the Hoosiers defeated St. Francis (Pa.), 89-72.
11:35 a.m. — Trayce Jackson Davis had nine points against Wisconsin on Wednesday and now sits an 1,126career points, good for 41st place all-time. He passed Will Sheehey (1,120) on Wednesday and next up on this list is Cody Zeller (1,157). For the complete list of 1,000-point scorers, CLICK HERE
11:30 a.m. — Indiana leads the Big Ten in defensive field goal percentage (35.4%), is second in blocked shots (6.0) and fourth in 3-point FG defense (27.2%). The Hoosiers set a school record against Louisiana when they defended 25-straight Louisiana shots without a make. Since the second game of the season, IU is second in the Big Ten shooting 40.8% from 3-point range.
11:25 a.m. — The Hoosiers are a perfect 7-0 at home this season. There are four nonconference games remaining in December, with games against UNC Asheville and Northern Kentucky remaining at Assembly Hall and a showdown with Notre Dame next Saturday (Dec. 18) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in the final Crossroads Classic.
